The week after I got back from Chengdu not much happened besides more of what I did the first week. I went out to dinner with friends. I was kind of in a weird position. I did not really want to go to any sites since Sandra would be arriving at the end of the week and I did not want to end up going to the same place twice in a week. On the other hand I could not really think of much else to do. It would have been sweet to have my skateboard, but when it came time to travel I am sure I would not have wanted to lug it around.

Since all I did was eat dinner I guess you want to hear about what I ate. I had dumplings with Li Rong at a place she recommended. They were really tasty and did not take their revenge on me like some I have eaten before. We ate some vegetable dumplings that were green. They remind me of ravioli made with spinach pasta, only round. Those could not top the venison dumplings we ate, however. Afterwards we had gin and tonics at a cafe I used to go to a lot while studying a Tsinghua. Mainly because there was not a Starbucks nearby. Another night I met with Peng Li, a teacher of mine from IUP. We did not have any food that is worth mentioning on the basis of being odd. I did get to eat with Cai Li, my IUP classmate named Sonia. Apparently she was sent here to work until August. She works in Fengtai at a law firm that sues large companies who do not pay or support the workers hired from the country side. This is a big problem because often times there are no consequences, but Cai Li is hoping there work can makes the large companies fearful of persecution, so the situation for these workers will improve. Post dinner we went to a great little cafe to the east of Tsinghua. I thought it was actually nicer than Sculpting in Time (the gin and tonic place). It is called A Space for Imagination Cafe and it has been around for quite a while, but the teachers never told us about it. The group of us watched the Czech Republic vs. Togo soccer match. It was quite boring, but at least I got to try a new drink, coke with ginger in it … quite interesting. Does anyone know where to get this in Seattle?

Every day since Sandra arrived has been great, not to say it was not great before she arrived either. I was a little concerned about what she would think about Beijing and China. I was worried that she might not like it or certain parts of it, but on the contrary, she has liked everything so far. Some random memorable moments include the conversation about the need for a time machine while walking around the Summer Palace and the following; Sandra falling asleep on the subway on her first night in Beijing. We were only going one stop, but she could not resist my shoulder. Another great conversation was about how there is such a chinese feel to how rocks are stacked in places like the Summer Palace. Even though it looks very unnatural, it seems that any other way would not have the Chinese feel. Sandra sleeps whenever she is not walking. It does not sound odd when old ladies who climb the Great Wall everyday to peddle goods say their bodies are awesome. It is disheartening when these same woman can climb the wall in half the time you can, but you are half their age. I think Sandra brought the rain with her. There is a thunderstorm right now. Great to hear the weather is cooler here than in Seattle. The forbidden city will forever be under construction. There is a good Korean drink made from aloe.

Enough random thoughts for now. Tomorrow we get to pick up Sandra’s tailor made Chinese dresses. We get to see MCK and his sweet Beijing pad. We will try to visit my old land lady and finally eat some dumplings with Li Rong again. There are plans for Peking Duck on Thursday and we will leave Beijing on Friday morning. There has been a slight change in plans. Rather than take any trains we decided to take planes for convenience. This gives us a little more time in Shanghai. Rather than spend another day there we decided to head to Hangzhou. Supposedly the lotus flowers blossom in the beginning of July, which means it is perfect timing for us.

The next entry is from Sandra.